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Star profile

Nu Cassiopeiae

Hot blue star
3D likeness based on its real data · class B · ~15,000 K

What is Nu Cassiopeiae

Nu Cassiopeiae is a blue-white B-type star about 412 light-years away, within the unmistakable W-shape —or M, depending on the season— of the Ethiopian Queen. Its raw light comes from a photosphere many times hotter than the Sun's, an intensity our eyes perceive only as a modest point compared to its brighter neighbours Schedar and Caph.

Where it is and when to see it

Nu Cassiopeiae lies in the northern celestial hemisphere. It is visible to the naked eye under a dark sky. Its best month of the year is October, when it culminates around midnight.

  • From London it never sets and culminates about 89° up.
  • From New York it never sets and culminates about 80° up.
  • From Sydney it culminates about 5° above the horizon.

It can be seen from anywhere north of 39° S.

It ranks no. 27 in brightness among the 93 stars of Cassiopeia in our catalogue. To find it, start from Cih, the brightest: it lies about 10° away (a fist at arm's length covers about 10°).

The light you see today left it about 410 years ago.

Find it on the sky map

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Leave your signature on Nu Cassiopeiae

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A public signature from a real person. The chosen name is a symbolic denomination within Stelvia, with no official standing or IAU recognition: the sky is not for sale and belongs to no one.

Astronomical data for Nu Cassiopeiae

Constellation
Cassiopeia
Apparent magnitude
4.90
Distance
411.9 light years
Coordinates (J2000)
RA 12.208° · Dec 50.968°
Catalogue
HIP 3801 · HD 4636

A symbolic commemorative gift: neither the signature nor the chosen name implies ownership of the star or recognition by the IAU.

Other stars in Cassiopeia

Cassiopeia has 93 stars in Stelvia's catalogue. Here are a few of them.

See all 93 stars in Cassiopeia